Bold Strategy, Cotton: Discipline, a bold movement for the mission

The U.S Army is founded on several values and principles such as Military Conduct, Respect and Discipline. These values represent everything the organization firmly believes in, and by which all members should firmly abide

From the moment we join the army, we become soldiers disciplined military style. As soldiers, we know that lacking discipline can have terrible consequences such as losing our lives or a partners’ life.

A bold movement for the mission

Have you ever heard the phrase “It’s a bold strategy, Cotton? This famous phrase is originally a quote from the movie Dodgeball, from a scene where the captain of a dodgeball team leads his team to victory by a sudden-death move with his eyes blindfolded. Before such feat, the game’s commentators define this risky movement as a “bold strategy, Cotton” 

In a world full of chaos, subordinates trust entirely their leaders to make the right decisions, and trust those decisions are the best choices they can get.

It is then when Discipline plays its role. It is important to take into account that having this highly important value is necessary in order to faithfully comply with orders. The level of discipline can directly affect all aspects of the military life; the direction and purpose of the mission can be seriously affected by a soldier’s lack of discipline. 

When military training goes hand in hand with discipline, soldiers will do their jobs right. The confidence to act correctly under any stressful situation will always be present; when you are the leader of a disciplined group, you can entrust them with any mission. 

Challenging the authority can be really dangerous

Discipline has become that essential value that protects us from danger and destruction. Certainly, discipline is a method of obtaining obedience. During training, every soldier is evaluated to withstand difficult and long hours of hard work, and what it means to live in a community with quite high standards.

It is through discipline that wars can be won and, better yet, thousands of lives can be saved. Discipline is built with precision; every lesson learned has a huge impact on a mission and can change a soldier’s life or an entire battalion.

Whether you agree or not, always say “Roger!”

No matter the order your superiors give, it is necessary to always say “Roger!”, whether you agree or not with what they are saying.  You must respect and follow the orders your superiors believe are correct. The reason for this is simple: they have earned their ranks by serving more years than you, which makes them be more experienced when it comes to solving unexpected situations.

It is true that obedience and respect are highly valued in the army, since they provide structure to respect ranks and authority. When there is lack of discipline and respect for the authority, there is no structure; hence, the Army will not have any solid foundations and it will fail.